Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash
Margarita Herrera was the guest speaker for the Round 1 Boxing Scholarship Banquet held at TCC Trinity River Campus on May 20th. Ms. Herrera shared her journey from immigrating to the U.S. from El Salvador at a very young age. She shared that her mother had her when she was 16 and that her home life was difficult due to domestic violence and poverty. And while that was part of her personal history, she was determined not to have that experience shape her future.
A Govea
So much so that she graduated from UT Austin with a degree in aerospace engineering, an achievement few Latinas and Females, in general, have achieved. Her passion for problem-solving and being proficient in the universal language of math and science led to her desire to major in engineering. And she is not done yet as she plans to receive her master’s degree in mechanical or systems engineering next.
Ms. Herrera credits her success to family support, teachers, mentors, and the scholarships she was awarded. Including Round 1 Boxing that, allowed her to attend U.T. In closing, she shared that her goal is to become the first female to travel and land on the moon. I would not bet against her, and you shouldn’t either. So maybe, she has already reached the stars, so the moon is the next logical step.
The rest of the evening involved witnessing deserving young people receive their scholarship awards. I was struck at how articulate these young people were in their acceptance message. Especially since I know how hard public speaking can be for most of us. The colleges and universities that I will be attending are varied from local community colleges to out-of-state universities. And their choice of study is varied as well. However, one thing is clear they all have Las Ganas (The Desire) to succeed.
I want to thank Joe Hidrogo, Founder and Coach for Round 1 Boxing, for all he does to support higher education through his scholarship fundraising. In addition, every year, he helps provide meals for students and their families through his food giveaway program. This includes providing turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas for families in need. Last, I want to also acknowledge all the event volunteers, especially the emcee, Pastor Bernie Henyon for keeping the program on task and making us laugh in the process. Below is a complete list of the 2022 receipts and contact details for Joe Hidrogo if you would like to help support their mission.
Students: Abby Amador, Chasten Dale Komole Musenda, Crystal Zamora, Diego Perales Rodriguez, Dylan Contreras, Karina Hernandez, Kendell Taylor, Leo Mireles, Mai Lu Martin-Cole, Ryann Vance, Yasmeen Ramirez, Zachary Lee Program Director Joe Hidrogo jshidrogo@sbcglobal.net